The Duelist of Oz
by the1koolkitty
Summary: A strange tornado blows into Japan, throwing Kaiba and Mokuba into the strange and wonderful Land of Oz! Deja vu... Shonenai KaibaJoey and slight YamiYugi and RyouBakura COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1: A Regular Day Gone Wrong

_**Chapter One: A Regular Day Gone Wrong**_

Seto Kaiba was a great businessman. He was rich and handsome, and appreciated the value of hard work. However, when you were a worker who didn't work hard, he could get quite nasty.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU THIS, YOU ASSHOLE?" Kaiba raged as his newest employee, who was thirty years older than him, cowered in fear, "YOUR MODEL IS NOT ON SCALE! DO YOU EXPECT ALL MY CUSTOMERS TO BE SUMO-WRESTLERS? YOU'RE FIRED!"

Yes, Seto Kaiba was very scary when he was angry. He usually fired an employee every week; he was cold and seemed heartless at most times. Why, the only person who could look past the coldness was his little brother Mokuba, but not even Mokuba could get Kaiba out of the office and get him to have some fun.

That night Mokuba took his limo home from the nighttime school play he'd had to watch alone and entered the Kaiba mansion, empty and lonely as it always was.

'_Seto's working late again…'_ he thought to himself.

Mokuba sighed as he dropped his backpack next to the coat tree and collapsed onto the couch.

He turned on the TV; he flipped through the channels uninterestedly.

'_FOX news…Barney…Queer Eye for a Straight Guy…Trading Spaces…Fear Factor…Tim Russert…Spongebob marathon…Days of our Lives…'_

Mokuba groaned as he turned off the TV.

'_I wish Seto was here…' _he thought,_ 'I always wish Seto was here…'_

It was then that someone knocked on the door.

The butler went to get it, but Mokuba slid in front of him.

"Who is it?" he called.

"It's us!" two voices said together.

Mokuba opened it to see Yugi Mutou, Joey Wheeler and Ryou Bakura standing there. (Yugi and Joey had been the ones calling.)

Yugi Mutou (with help from his other side christened "Yami") had been the only person to ever beat Kaiba in a game of Duel Monsters. He was the King of Games, but neither Yugi nor his other side let it go to their heads. In fact, Mokuba and Yugi considered each other friends, and Yugi considered Kaiba one too, although Kaiba growled at a single mention of friendship.

Joey Wheeler was Yugi's best friend; he was a duelist too, but he'd never been able to beat neither Kaiba nor Yugi. He was about third-rank in all the world, though, and was right loyal too. However, he and Kaiba had a fiery rivalry between each other; one (usually Kaiba) would tease and mock the other to get his goat (usually Joey).

Ryou Bakura was right-old mysterious. He was a friend of Yugi's, but sometimes you could question that friendship as he had an abusive, heartless Yami who could care less about anyone or anything as long he got the seven Millennium Items. Luckily, since Ryou returned to Japan after going to Britain for a week, his Yami had not made another appearance.

"What's up, guys?" Mokuba asked curiously. Usually they only met in town or something; they never came to see him.

"Did you hear the news today?" a newly-appeared Yami asked worriedly as a gust of cold nighttime wind blew his tricolored hair all in his face.

"No…" Mokuba replied hesitantly.

"There's a really, really bad tornado coming," said Joey, "The weather reporter says it's unlike anything he's ever seen, particularly here in Japan…he told everyone to get home and barricade themselves in a basement or something…"

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Seto! He doesn't know! He's still working in the top-most office of KaibaCorp!"

Mokuba shoved past them and started running.

"Mokuba!" Ryou yelled, "Mokuba, wait! It's too dangerous!"

But Mokuba didn't even look back.

Mokuba sped up the stairs of the building, barely noticing that most of the workers had already left for the day.

All of a sudden the building jerked to the side, throwing Mokuba backwards into the wall. The windows shattered and the wind gusted around him. Mokuba held onto the railing of the staircase with everything in him, climbing up those last few steps with difficulty toward Kaiba's office.

He reached for the doorknob, but his arm wasn't long enough; then his grip on the railing slipped and he felt himself being blown out the window…

But a hand grabbed his in the nick of time.

Mokuba looked up in relief as Kaiba pulled his brother out of the gust of wind and into the office before shutting the door.

"Mokuba, what are you doing here?" Kaiba demanded, looking both worried and angry as he pulled him into a corner of the room.

"I was trying to warn you," Mokuba moaned quietly.

Kaiba shook his head. "Mokuba, you should've come-"

But right then the building jerked again, slamming Kaiba headfirst into the wall and all went black.

* * *

When Kaiba slowly regained consciousness, his head was throbbing like mad.

He groaned as he opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"Mokuba…" he whispered, before getting up, "Mokuba?"

"Here, Seto," Mokuba got up next to him.

They both got to their feet, and realized the room was on its side. Kaiba's desk was overturned, and the door was on the roof.

Mokuba looked up broodingly at the door. "Well…I don't think that's our way out…"

Kaiba brushed past Mokuba and looked at the wall that would've been his ceiling. He kicked it hard, and it fell completely into ash.

"I knew the materials for this building were weak," he said crisply, "Who ever leads the company who built this are so fired when I get back."

Kaiba then stepped out of the new passageway with Mokuba right behind him, and into the strangest place he'd ever seen.

Everything around them was shiny and colorful; it was almost as if they'd gone to a town painted with every color imaginable, with flowers, trees and brush grown inside the rainbow itself.

"Dorothy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Mokuba said breathlessly.

Even Kaiba was speechless for a minute. Then he got back into character and muttered, "Where in hell's name are we?"

Sadly, even if he had started listing off every geographical site known to man, Kaiba still wouldn't have gotten his answer.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Munchkin Land

_**Chapter Two: Welcome to Munchkin Land**_

"Are you a good wizard or a bad wizard?"

Kaiba whirled around to see a dark-haired woman with blue eyes dressed in a light pink gown and holding a red and gold staff eying him closely.

"Beg pardon," Kaiba growled, "But I'm not a wizard at all. I'm Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporation."

"Oh," the woman said in a sophisticated sort of amusement, pointing at Mokuba with her staff, "Well, is _he_ a wizard?"

"Mokuba?" Kaiba snorted as Mokuba hid behind him, "Mokuba's my little brother."

The woman laughed. "I'm a little confused. The Munchkins told me a new wizard has thrown a building on the Wicked Witch of the East, Tea. Here's the building," her staff went toward the destroyed KaibaCorp building, "And here you are…and that's all that's left of Tea."

Kaiba stared at two blue-white stocking feet wearing two silver slippers poking out of the rubble. Mokuba gasped.

"So what the Munchkins want to know is: are you a good wizard or a bad wizard?"

"I already told you," Kaiba snapped, "I'm not a wizard…wizards and witches aren't _real_."

Some childish giggles responded to his comment, but Kaiba couldn't see any children around anywhere.

"What was that?" asked Mokuba in surprise.

"The Munchkins," responded the woman with a motherly smile, "They're laughing because I am a witch…I'm Ishizu, the Good Witch of the North."

"You are?" Kaiba asked skeptically, "Well…I beg your pardon, but where _I_ come from, witches are only in children's' books."

"Your land must be sensible, then," replied Ishizu, "In all sensible countries, wizards and witches have died out…but Oz is not sensible in the least."

She turned around and called, "It's alright…you may all come out and thank them."

Then, from their hiding places in the brush and behind trees, came little people no bigger than Mokuba, all dressed in blue.

"We saved a bunch of midgets?" Kaiba said in disgust.

"_Munchkins_," Ishizu corrected, "The little people in this land, Munchkin Land…and you two are their saviors from the Wicked Witch of the East."

"Saviors?" Mokuba repeated, his eyes wide.

"We thank you with everything in our hearts and souls," replied one of the female Munchkins, who looked oddly like a female Mokuba with softer eyes and lighter hair, "I am Adina, Princess of the Munchkins, and thanks to you, my people are finally free from Tea's heartless work hours and treatment!"

"She made you work?" Kaiba inquired.

Adina frowned as she nodded her head. "Night and day, for barely little pay…we were like slaves, great wizard, all to keep her satisfied."

"I'll assume her tasks were not to assist you in any way, then," Kaiba muttered.

Adina snorted. "Not in the least! She made us work in her diamond and silver mines to make her jewelry and trinkets! But now is not the time to be talking of such distasteful things!" she added cheerfully, "Now, we must rejoice, for the Wicked old Witch at last is dead!"

All the Munchkins around her cheered almost in unison, like a group of school kids whose summer break had just begun; then music started up and pairs of Munchkins were dancing around and singing happily.

"_**Ding dong, the Witch is dead,  
Which old witch? The Wicked Witch!  
Ding dong, the Wicked Witch is dead…**_

_**Ding dong, lift up your head,  
Bat your eyes, get out of bed,  
Ding dong, the Wicked Witch is dead!"**_

Mokuba was bobbing his head to the beat and seemed to get into the celebration, but Kaiba still stayed expressionless and business-like.

"_**She's gone where the goblins go,  
Below…below…below.  
Yo-ho, let's open up and sing  
And ring the bells out!**_

_**Ding Dong, the merry-oh,  
Sing it high,  
Sing it low;  
Let them know the Wicked Witch is-"**_

It was then that a huge blast of purple-black smoke exploded in the center of the square. The Munchkins all ran and hid, as another figure made his way through the smoke.

He was dressed in a black tuxedo and was also holding a staff (colored silver and purple); he had dark hair with side-burns, heavy lidded eyebrows and a straight-line moustache, and looked old enough to be Kaiba's father.

The stranger looked around for a moment, and then his eyes lay on the dead feet of the Wicked Witch of the East.

"W-who's he?" stammered Mokuba.

"That's the Wicked Wiz of the West," replied Ishizu, "He's even more dangerous than the Wicked Witch of the East was…"

"Who killed my associate?" the stranger asked coldly, similar to how Kaiba would, before raising his voice and roaring, "_Who killed the Witch of the East_?"

Some of the Munchkins screamed. The stranger looked at Kaiba and Mokuba.

"Was it you?" he spat.

"We…we didn't mean to, it was an accident!" pleaded Mokuba.

"We can handle any lawsuits you intend to shoot back at us," Kaiba interrupted, stepping protectively in front of Mokuba and glaring at the stranger.

"Well, boy, _I'll _determine that," the stranger leered at Kaiba.

"Are you forgetting about the silver shoes, Gozaburo?" Ishizu said silkily.

"The shoes," Gozaburo mumbled, as if he'd just remembered, "_Yes_…the shoes…"

He turned back to take them, only to find the silver shoes were no longer on the Wicked Witch of East's feet.

"They're gone!" he growled, rounding on Ishizu, "What have you done with them? Give them back to me, or I'll-"

"It's too late," Ishizu replied calmly, picking up her staff and pointing with it again, this time at Kaiba's feet, "There they are, and there they'll stay."

When Kaiba looked down, his regular work shoes were now alight with silver. His eyes widened.

"I'm the only one who knows how to use them, boy," snarled Gozaburo, "They're no use to you. Give them back to me. _Give them back_!"

"Keep tight inside them, Kaiba," Ishizu muttered in his ear, "They're very powerful; that's the only reason he'd want them so badly."

"You stay out of this, Ishizu!" Gozaburo snapped.

"Rubbish," Ishizu snapped back, "There's no way I'll let you get that kind of power; now be gone, before someone drops a house on you too!"

Gozaburo involuntarily shot a look up at the sky, before hissing, "Very well…I'll bide my time. And as for you, boy," his head jerked toward Kaiba, "True, I can't kill you with my bare hands, but just _try _to stand out of my way. I'll get you, boy, and your little brother too!"

And with that, he vanished in a puff of purple-black smoke.

"He's gone now," whispered Ishizu to the Kaiba brothers, "I'm afraid you've made a dangerous enemy of the Wicked Wiz of the West. He won't leave you alone until he gets the silver shoes…the only thing I can suggest is to get back to your world before that happens…sadly, there are only two ways for you to get home and both are rather far from here. One is to go see the Good Wiz of the South, my business associate, but he is so kind and merciful that everyone wants to see him…he's quite a star, you see. The other is to go see the great and terrible Wizard of Oz himself."

All the Munchkins bowed at the mere mention of that name. Mokuba and Kaiba, however, were clueless.

"Wizard of Oz?" asked Mokuba, "Is he good or wicked?"

"Very good, but very mysterious," Ishizu elaborated, "But he lives in the Emerald City, and that's very far from here…did you bring a broomstick with you?"

Kaiba and Mokuba exchanged a look and then shook their heads.

"We didn't even bring our Blue Eyes plane," sighed Kaiba.

"Well then, you'll have to walk," Ishizu replied, "Now…all you have to do is follow the Yellow Brick Road," her staff pointed at a yellow road leading out of Munchkin Land, "And it will lead you straight to the Emerald City. And remember," here she looked straight and Kaiba, "Never take those silver shoes off your feet for the slightest moment, or you will be Gozaburo's mercy."

Kaiba nodded curtly, before he and Mokuba took their first steps onto the Yellow Brick Road.

"But what happens if we…?"

"Just follow the Yellow Brick Road," Ishizu repeated, before disappearing in a gentle gust of pink smoke.

"Man," muttered Kaiba, "People come and go quickly here."

Then, hearing yells of goodbye and good luck from the Munchkins, the two Kaiba brothers started down the Yellow Brick Road.


	3. Chapte 3: If I Only Had a Brain

_**Chapter Three: If I Only Had a Brain**_

Kaiba and Mokuba continued down the Yellow Brick Road, the younger of the two humming to himself.

"**_'Ding dong, the witch is dead…'_**"

Suddenly they stopped in their tracks as they came to a fork in the road, splitting the Yellow Brick Road into two roads.

"Damn it," muttered Kaiba, "Now which way do we go?"

"Excuse me," said a voice, "But that way's a very nice way."

The two Kaiba brothers looked around for the source of the voice, but all they saw was a blond-haired scarecrow perched on a pole in a cornfield, his right arm extended.

"Who said that?" Kaiba snapped.

"But there's nothing here but that scarecrow, Seto," Mokuba whispered.

"Don't be silly, Mokuba," Kaiba reproached, "Scarecrows don't talk."

"It's cool down there too, though," the voice continued.

Kaiba subconsciously looked back up at the scarecrow, now to see his left arm extended.

He frowned, looking back at his little brother. "That's funny…wasn't that scarecrow pointing the other way?"

"Of course, people do go both ways," the voice laughed, and this time Kaiba looked up to see the scarecrow point in both directions.

The CEO gawked.

"Wait a minute…you _did_ say something, didn't you?" he demanded, looking straight at the scarecrow's painted brown eyes.

The scarecrow shook his head, before nodding with goofy grin on his face.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" asked Mokuba, looking slightly insulted.

"Or can't you make up your mind?" demanded Kaiba.

"That's just the trouble," the scarecrow replied naively, "I _can't_ make up my mind. I haven't got a brain…only straw."

"How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?" Kaiba inquired.

The scarecrow frowned in thought.

"I don't know," he said at last, "But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?"

And to Mokuba's surprise as well as his own, Kaiba chuckled.

"I suppose you're right," the elder Kaiba brother granted, "I don't believe we've been properly introduced, have we?"

"No, I don't think so," replied the scarecrow.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba," Mokuba introduced himself, "And this is my big brother Seto."

"The farmer's daughter named me Katsuya Jounouchi," the scarecrow replied, "But you can call me Jou."

"How do you do, Jou?" Mokuba said politely.

"Not great, to be honest," Jou sighed, "Then again, having a pole up your back probably isn't the best position."

"That must be pretty painful," Mokuba said.

"No, not really," Jou reassured cheerfully, "But I can't get down or go anywhere…so it does make things pretty boring."

"Maybe I can get you down," Kaiba offered, going around to look at the other side of the pole.

"Oh, that'd be very nice of you," Jou told him, "Very, very nice."

Kaiba frowned in thought as he tried to figure out how to unfasten the scarecrow from the pole. "Damn…if this were a computer, this would be so much-"

"I'm not very bright about doing things," Jou said as one would about the weather, "But maybe if ya bend the nail down in the back, maybe I'll slip off and…"

Right then he fell off the pole as Kaiba had bended down the nail, and some straw stuffing came out of his chest.

Jou laughed. "There goes some of me again!"

"Does it hurt you?" asked Mokuba in concern.

"No, I just grab it and stuff it back in again," Jou replied pleasantly as he did so, "Man, it's good to be free…"

The scarecrow tried to walk, but he tripped and Kaiba just barely caught him.

"Did I scare ya?" Jou asked when he saw the Kaiba brother's looks of worry.

"No," Kaiba muttered, getting back into character, "We just thought you might hurt yourself with your clumsiness."

Jou didn't even seemed to notice that Kaiba had insulted him.

"But I didn't scare ya?" he repeated.

"No, of course not," Mokuba tried to reassure him.

"I didn't think so," Jou muttered, looking disappointed.

Right then a black crow came over and landed on Jou's shoulder, nibbling on some straw coming out of his neck.

"Boo," Jou said unenthusiastically, "Go away. Go fuck your momma."

But the crow didn't leave, and instead cawed like a mocking laugh.

"See?" the scarecrow told the brothers sadly as the crow went back to nibbling away at his straw, "I can't even scare a _crow_! They come for miles just to pick at my stuffing and laugh in my face."

Kaiba finally got fed up as the crow started cawing mockingly again.

"Get out of here, you rat with wings," the CEO snapped threateningly, and the crow flew away in terror.

"Oh…I'm a failure 'cause I haven't got a brain," Jou put his head in his hands.

The two Kaiba brothers looked at each other for a moment, before Mokuba spoke up.

"Seto and I are going to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz so we can go back home to Domino…maybe he could get you some brains."

Jou's face lit up. "You think so? You really think so?"

"I don't see why not he couldn't help you," Kaiba shrugged, "But I don't suggest you come with us; the Wicked Wiz of the West is on our tail because he wants these shoes," he shook one of his feet to call attention to the silver shoes, "And he hasn't been very friendly to us thus far."

"Wicked Wiz?" Joey snorted, puffing himself up with pride, "I'm not scared of him! I'm not afraid of _anything_! Well…alright, maybe one thing," his voice became meek here.

"What?" asked Mokuba.

Jou's eyes darted from side to side, before whispering, "A lighted match."

"Even _I_ don't blame you for that," Kaiba noted.

"But I'd go through a whole box of lighted matches if it meant I could get some brains," Joey said determinedly, "Won't you take me with you? I don't eat, I don't sleep, and I won't ever question you because I can't think! Please…can't I come with you?"

His painted eyes were like a pleading puppy dog's.

"Of course you can," Mokuba assured, "Right, Seto?"

"Sure, why not," Kaiba sighed.

"HOORAY!" Jou jumped up in delight, "I'M GONNA SEE THE WIZARD OF OZ!"

Jou tripped again, and Kaiba once again had to catch him.

"You're not starting out very well," he said coldly.

"Oh, don't worry," Jou assured, acting a little more controlled, "I'll get better! I promise I will!"

"Alright, then," Kaiba smiled slightly, "Let's go."

And so the scarecrow joined the two Kaiba brothers down the right half of the Yellow Brick Road, hoping for the best and quickest way to the Emerald City.


	4. Chapter 4: Another Heartless Companion

_**Chapter Four: Another Heartless Companion**_

Kaiba, Mokuba and Jou continued down the Yellow Brick Road, Jou and Mokuba skipping way in front of Kaiba, humming _"Ding Dong, the Witch is dead"_ together and off-tempo.

They only stopped when Mokuba said, "Man, I sure am hungry…"

Kaiba went off the side of the road to a grove of apple trees, and pick ed an apple off the tree. He was going to give it to his brother, when the hand-like branch of the tree slapped his hand and made him drop the apple.

"Ow!" Kaiba nursed his hurt hand.

"Whaddya think you're doing?" snapped the tree.

Kaiba was dumbfounded for a moment, and then he snapped back, "We were walking along, and Mokuba was hungry, so I…" He froze in shocked realization. "Did you just _talk_?"

"'_Mokuba was hungry,'_" laughed the tree.

Some other trees laughed along with him.

"And how would you feel if someone came along and grabbed something off of you?" the lead tree asked rather rudely.

"Fuck it," Kaiba muttered, "I keep forgetting we're not in Japan…"

Jou looked at the trees for a minute, and then he said loudly, "C'mon, Mokuba…you don't want any of _those_ apples."

"You questioning my apples for what they are, punk?" the lead tree threatened.

"Oh, no," Jou replied innocently, before adding in a snide tone, "I just don't think he wanted any little green worms in his apple."

That obviously was a grave insult, as the trees tried to attack them with everything in them.

When the three got to a distance where the trees couldn't grab them, Jou whispered to Kaiba, "_I'll_ show you how to get apples," before sticking out his tongue at the trees and mocking them.

"Nah, nah," he crowed, "You can't get me!"

The trees finally grabbed the apples they had on their branches and threw them at Jou. A couple hit him in the chest, winding him, but Jou just laughed.

"Thanks a lot, fellas!" he shouted, picking up some of the fallen apples.

Mokuba grabbed a few more that the trees had thrown further into the wooded area, and when he did, he found something incredible.

"Seto! Jou!" he yelled, "Seto, Jou, come over here!"

"What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, before seeing what Mokuba had found.

Standing there on its own accord was a perfect replica of a man; the only difference was that he was made completely out of tin. White hair fell around its shoulders, and its arms were lifted to hold an ax, which was in perfect angle with the tree next to it.

"Jesus Christ," Kaiba muttered, coming around to get a better look.

It was then that a voice tried to speak; the only problem was that it was so muffled, you could barely understand a word.

"Did you say something?" Jou asked the tinman.

The voice struggled to speak again, and the only word any of them could make out was…

"Oilcan?" Mokuba muttered in confusion.

Kaiba looked around, before seeing an oilcan propped up on a tree stump. He grabbed it, before squeezing some oil around the tinman's lips.

The lips moved for a moment, trying to open.

"Bloody hell," the tinman finally spoke in a British accent, "I can _talk_…after all this time, I can talk again… Oh, please, could you oil my arms? My elbows?"

Jou grabbed the oilcan to oil the left arm and elbow, before handing it back to Kaiba so he could oil the right side. The tinman bended his limbs, and then lowered his ax with a shrill shriek.

"Did that hurt?" asked Mokuba.

"No," the tinman sighed, "It feels heavenly. I've held that ax up for _ages_…it feels great to finally lower it."

"Geez," said Jou, as he put some oil on the tinman's neck, "How long have you held up that thing, man?"

"Don't know, really," the tinman admitted, "I couldn't really ask anyone how long, I couldn't look at a clock, and I stopped counting seconds by the first two days."

"Well," said Kaiba briskly, as he oiled the tinman's hips and legs, "At least you can move now…I'm Seto Kaiba, this is my younger brother Mokuba, and this is Jou the scarecrow."

"Pleasure to meet you," the tinman held out his hand to shake Mokuba's, "I'm Ryou Bakura. I'm a woodman…sort of. I'm more like a tin woodman."

"Well, whoever built you should be proud," Kaiba told him, "You're very well-built…a perfect tin model of a man…"

"_Perfect_?" snorted Ryou, "Bang on my chest if you think I'm perfect," seeing Kaiba's hesitation, he added, "Go on and bang on it, it won't hurt me."

Kaiba, still reluctant, banged on the tin sharply, to have his bangs echoed back at him.

"Beautiful," Jou grinned goofily, "What a sound."

"It's empty," explained Ryou.

He sighed, before confessing, "The tinsman forgot to give me a heart."

"_No heart_?" Mokuba and Kaiba said together.

"No heart," Ryou affirmed sadly, "Only tin."

There was a silence, before a light bulb went on in Jou's head.

"We're going to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz! He's gonna get me a brain, and get Kaiba and Mokuba back home! Maybe he could get you a heart too!"

"Well…suppose the Wizard doesn't give me a heart when we get there?" Ryou asked pessimistically.

"Oh, but he _will_," assured Mokuba, "He _has_ to. We've come so far already!"

Suddenly there was a cold, cruel laugh; they whirled around, and standing there out of newly fading purple smoke was the Wicked Wiz of the West.

"You call this long, runt?" Gozaburo scorned, "You've just begun!"

Here he looked at Ryou and Jou.

"Helping these two along, are we, my fine gentlemen?" he asked, his voice still quite sardonic, "Well, stay away from them, or I'll have an executive at my company handle you _personally_."

Ryou shivered, but Jou didn't show one ounce of fear.

"Go back to your rat hole, bastard!" he growled at the wizard, "Leave Mokuba and Kaiba alone!"

Kaiba eyed Jou in surprise; Jou didn't look afraid in the least as he glared up at Gozaburo with complete and utter hatred.

The look of smugness in Gozaburo's eyes flickered quickly, before he brandished his hand in Jou's direction and a ball of fire flew at him.

Jou shouted, jumping away from the flames desperately and behind Kaiba as the CEO used his trenchcoat to deaden the flames.

Kaiba looked back up at Gozaburo to tell him to keep Jou out of this, but he was already gone in another puff of purple smoke.

Jou panted a little, his eyes wide with terror. Kaiba patted his shoulder.

"It's okay now," he told the scarecrow reassuringly.

Jou took a deep breath, and then smiled. "Thanks, Kaiba."

"No problem," the CEO replied gruffly, putting his trenchcoat back on, "C'mon…we gotta keep going."

Mokuba, Kaiba and Jou got back onto the Yellow Brick Road, before Ryou ran over to join them, his cheeks red and looking rather shy.

"Can I…may I…could I…?"

"Sure, you can come with us," Mokuba laughed.

And as the sun started to drop down in the sky, the four friends continued into the deeper, darker section of the forest, down the Yellow Brick Road and ever closer to the Emerald City.


	5. Chapter 5: A Mane Character

_**Chapter Five: The "Mane" Character**_

Night fell on the four travelers; the full moon shone through the dark forest in a sort of eerie light and when he yawned, Mokuba's mouth seemed almost as wide as it.

"Seto, I'm sleepy," Mokuba said quietly, rubbing his left eye.

"Maybe we should set up camp, Kaiba," Jou suggested, "The little guy looks ready to give out any moment…and it'd be easier to follow the Yellow Brick Road by day anyway."

Kaiba sighed. "I suppose you're right…"

So the four sat down in the middle of the road to rest for the night. Ryou chopped up a few logs and started a small fire, which Jou kept far, far away from. Kaiba covered Mokuba in his trenchcoat to keep him warm, and stroked his long black hair softly as he fell asleep.

"Kaiba, you should sleep too," Jou whispered.

Kaiba shook his head.

"No…I-it's okay," he tried to hold back a yawn.

Jou looked at the CEO in concern. "Look…I don't need to sleep, as I'm not human, but you need rest if you plan to travel well tomorrow."

Kaiba eyed Jou in surprise. Jou patted his hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Kaiba," Jou told him, "Ryou and I will be here; we'll wake you if anything happens."

Kaiba looked at Jou carefully for a moment, before smiling subtly. "Thank you."

And with that, he went to sleep.

Jou sat next to him, and absently brought up his cloth hand to stroke Kaiba's hair like he had Mokuba's.

"Hey, Jou," Ryou spoke quietly.

"Yeah?" asked Jou, "What is it?"

"Do you really think the Wizard of Oz will help us?"

Jou blinked.

"Of course he will," he replied confidently, "Kaiba and Mokuba wouldn't steer us wrong, would they?"

Ryou was quiet.

"I don't know," he admitted, "Everyone I've trusted has left me…my father left to explore Oz…my mother died when I was little…my sister Amane became a witch's assistant for money, and that witch made me like this…" he gestured to his tin body.

Jou frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Ryou smiled sadly, "I shouldn't have brought it up…I just hope the Kaiba brothers aren't being led along-"

"They're not," Jou interrupted firmly, "We're going to get to the Wizard of Oz, and he'll give us what we want with barely a shake of his little finger."

It was then that a rustle came from the bushes behind Ryou.

"Ah!" Ryou whirled around, "W-what was _that_?"

"Dunno," muttered Jou.

Suddenly, out of the brush, a large animal jumped out.

"AHHHH!" Ryou screamed.

"KAIBA!" Jou shouted, "KAIBA, HELP!"

Kaiba and Mokuba both jerked awake as the animal lunged at Jou and knocked him down.

Now the four could get a good look at him; it was an odd black lion, with a black, purple and yellow mane and bright, glaring red eyes. And right now it was growling.

Jou tried to get away from the lion, but its paw was leaning down on his food and made it impossible for him to move it.

"Come on and fight," the lion growled deep in his throat, "I could take all of you on…just try me."

His eyes narrowed deviously at Jou. "You afraid of me or are you gonna fight me, you lopsided bag of hay?"

"Th-that's getting _personal_, lion!" Jou stammered, trying to sound brave.

"Y-yeah!" Ryou added, "G-go ahead and teach him a lesson, Jou!"

"B-but what's wrong with _you_ teaching him?" Jou demanded.

"Well, I-I barely know him!" Ryou squeaked.

Mokuba was glaring at the lion, and right then he snapped, "Go away and leave us alone! We did nothing to you and we have nothing you want!"

The lion's eyes went to Mokuba, and then his mouth went up into a twisted grin.

"I'll get you anyway, runt!"

The lion lunged at Mokuba; Mokuba yelled and started running.

Kaiba, however, had stepped in front of Mokuba at the last second and had slapped the lion full on the face.

SMACK!

"You son of a bitch!" he snarled, as the lion's paw went to his pained cheek.

"W-what did you do that for?" the lion asked, "I didn't _bite_ him…"

"But you tried to, and that makes all the difference," Kaiba retorted, "You already have no right to fight on things that are weaker than you, but to pick on my little brother is beyond the limit! You're nothing but a great big coward!"

"You're right," the lion said, and it was here that Kaiba saw he was crying, "I _am _a coward. I don't have any courage at all. I am the heir of the Yugioh clan, the highest hierarchy of the forest…and I was so afraid of my title that I ran away! A King of the Forest would _never_ run away, and particularly not sloppily like I did. I didn't think about all the scary noises in the forest at night…look at the circles under my eyes; I haven't slept in weeks!"

"Why don't you try counting sheep?" suggested Ryou.

"That doesn't work either," the lion sobbed, "I'm _afraid _of them!"

Ryou and Mokuba exchanged a look of pity, before Jou said, "Gee, that's awful," he added to Kaiba, "Don't you think the Wizard could help him too?"

"I don't see why not," Kaiba muttered, before speaking to the lion, "We're going to see the Wizard of Oz to get Jou a brain, Ryou a heart and Mokuba and me back to Japan…maybe he could get you some courage."

"Are you sure you wouldn't be humiliated to be in the company of a Cowardly Lion?" the lion sniffed, "_I_ would."

"Of course not!" Mokuba assured him.

"Things can't get more insane than they already have," Kaiba added.

The lion wiped away a tear and whispered, "That's…very nice of you…thank you."

"Welcome to the club," Jou said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

"I'm Prince Yami Yugioh," the lion replied, "But plain Yami's fine."

And so the lion joined the circle of friends on their journey…

Little did they know that the Wicked Wiz of the West had already planned another obstacle for them to overcome, right in front of the Emerald City.


	6. Chapter 6: Stop and Smell the Poppies

_**Chapter Six: Stop and Smell the Poppies**_  


Gozaburo smirked at his main computer, at the picture of the two Kaiba brothers, Jou, Ryou and Yami walking down the Yellow Brick Road, making their way closer and closer to the Emerald City.

"Those _fools_," he chuckled, "Those _absolute _fools. They know nothing of what lies in store for them… When I get those silver shoes, my power will be the greatest in Oz…and I'm not going to let that brat Kaiba _or_ his little friends get in my way."

He raised his hand, and dangerous purple magic sparkled around his fingers.

"_Poppies_," he whispered, "My poison poppies should slow down their little expedition…"

* * *

Jou, Ryou and Mokuba came skipping around a bend in the Yellow Brick Road, Kaiba and Yami walking slower around behind them.

"Yami?" said Kaiba quietly.

"Yeah, Kaiba?" asked Yami.

"I should warn you; if you ever endanger my brother's life again, I will rip you limb from limb," Kaiba cautioned the lion coldly.

Yami flinched, but his eyes were serious. "Look…I'm sorry about what happened earlier…but believe me, I'm nothing but a coward. I can assure you I never would've actually hurt Mokuba, even then."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Trust me, Kaiba," Yami muttered as he stepped in front of him to join the others, "If not for my cowardice, then for my royal word."

Jou, Bakura and Mokuba had stopped, and were talking excitedly and pointing, and when Kaiba looked ahead, he saw why.

Ahead of a field covered in pink poppies was a city, adorned by buildings of all sizes and a large gate surrounding the lot, shining as if it were made all out of emeralds (which, Kaiba reasoned, might be possible).

"The Emerald City!" Mokuba shouted in excitement, "There it is, we're almost there!"

"It's beautiful," whispered Ryou.

"He really must be a wonderful wizard to live in a city like _that_!" Yami breathed.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" asked Jou, before running into the field of poppies, "RACE YA!"

"Hey, no fair!" laughed Mokuba, before running after Jou, with Yami and Ryou at his heels.

Kaiba sweatdropped at the sight of them but ran with a little difficulty after them.

Jou finally got to the end of the poppy field, crowing, "I won! I won!"

"Oh shut up, you moron!" Ryou said playfully.

Coming along behind came Yami, Mokuba and Kaiba, all of them looking about to collapse of exhaustion.

"What's happening…?" Mokuba held his head, "I feel so _sleepy_…"

"You guys must not have gotten enough sleep last night," Ryou decided.

Mokuba shrugged. "Just let me sleep for just a minute…"

And with that, he lay down on the flowers and feel asleep.

"Oh, you can't fall asleep _now_!" Jou implored, "We're almost to the Emerald City, you guys can sleep over there!"

Yami yawned a big lion yawn, smiling faintly. "Actually…a little sleep…wouldn't be half bad…"

Ryou tried to keep Yami on his feet, but he was much heavier than he looked, and he too fell into the flowers.

"C'mon, Kaiba," said Jou desperately, "We got to get to the Emerald City! C'mon, give Ryou and me your hands, and we'll pull you along!"

"No, no…" Kaiba muttered vaguely, "I'll be fine…just let me rest for a moment…"

And he almost collapsed into Jou's arms.

"Kaiba?" Jou tried shaking him, "Kaiba!"

Ryou began crying.

"Don't cry, Ryou; you'll rust yourself!" Jou moaned, "Try and carry Mokuba…maybe we can get them into a hotel or something at the Emerald City…"

Ryou tried to pick the younger Kaiba up, but he wouldn't seem to budge.

"He's not…_moving_!" Ryou grunted.

"Something's keeping him stuck there!" Jou replied, "It must be some kind of enchantment!"

"It's the Wicked Wiz!" Ryou wailed, "What'll we do?" he then screamed in panic, "HELP! HELP!"

"There's no use _screaming _at a time like this!" Jou cried, tears filling his eyes, "Nobody can _hear _you!"

But not long later, their shouts mingled together.

"HELP!" "HELP, SOMEONE!" "ANYONE!"

And then, out of nowhere, snow began falling on the scene.

"Snow?" Jou whispered, his eyebrows raised.

"Oh _no_…" Ryou muttered.

"Oh _yes_!" Jou exclaimed, "Maybe that'll help…!"

The scarecrow's eyes widened, at the sight of someone helping Yami up out of the snow-covered poppy field.

He could barely see him, but he was dressed all in yellow and his hair was three colors: black, purple and gold…the same colors as Yami's fur.

The stranger looked up, revealing bright purple eyes. He smiled kindly at Jou, before vanishing into the vast snowfall.

'_Who was that?'_ Jou wondered, _'Did he just help us?'_

Jou then felt Kaiba stir in his lap.

"Kaiba?" he whispered, "Kaiba, you okay?"

Kaiba's blue eyes stared up vaguely.

'_Mutt…?'_ his mind asked itself.

"Kaiba, are you okay?" Jou repeated in concern, "Answer me."

Kaiba's vision came back into focus, and he muttered, "Jou?"

"Hey," Jou smiled, helping him up as Yami and Mokuba stirred.

"_Ugh_…" Yami held his head in his paw, before looking around, "Unusual weather conditions we're having, ain't it?"

"Uh-huh," agreed Mokuba, before realizing, "Ryou's rusted again!"

The others came around their friend.

"Give me the oilcan!"

"His mouth first!"

"Ryou, you okay?"

"Careful!"

* * *

Gozaburo gazed at the computer screen in fury.

"DAMN IT!" he growled.

He swung his magic staff around to smash one of his stained-glass window.

"Who _dares _to interfere with my plan?" he hissed, "When I find out who helped Kaiba and his little play-group…he will regret it."


	7. Chapter 7: The City of Green

_**Chapter Seven: The City of Green**_

Kaiba knocked three times on the door of the bright green gate in front of the Emerald City, his companions waiting behind him eagerly.

A little trapdoor on the wide opened to reveal a muscular man with pointy blond hair, dressed all in green.

"Name's Raphael," he introduced himself indifferently, "Guardian of the Door to the Emerald City…state your business or go away, I have other things I'd much rather be doing."

Yami and Kaiba exchanged a look, before the lion replied meekly, "Uh…w-we want to see the Wizard of Oz."

"Don't we all, don't we all," said Raphael dully, "No really, what do you want?"

"We're _serious_!" Ryou glared, "We need to see the Wizard of Oz!"

Raphael laughed derisively. "Don't you idiots _know_? Nobody can see the Great Oz: nobody, nohow. Even _I've_ never seen him!"

"Then how do you know there _is_ one?" asked Jou curiously.

Raphael didn't have an answer for that, so he snorted, "You're wasting my time…" and started to close the trapdoor.

"No, wait, wait!" Mokuba pleaded, "Seto and I have to see the Wizard…the Good Witch of the North sent us!"

"Prove it," Raphael dared.

"Kaiba's wearing the silver shoes she gave him," Jou pointed out.

Raphael looked down at Kaiba's feet, which were still alight with star-like silver.

"Atlantis Almighty," he breathed, before adding in a more controlled fashion, "Why didn't you _say_ so? That's a horse of a different color! C'mon in!"

The trapdoor closed, and the gate opened, to reveal the inner Emerald City, a beautiful cascade of lime, jade, olive, and every other shade of green imaginable.

And near the gate, there was a horse and buggy, all alight in green, where a wavy brown-haired and blue-eyed coachman dressed in green was seated.

"Heya, mates," he greeted in a Australian accent, "I'm Varon, and I shall be your primitive cab driver today! Need a lift somewhere?"

"Could you take us to see the Wizard?" asked Kaiba, stepping into the coach and helping Mokuba in.

"To the Wizard?" repeated Varon with wide eyes, "To the _Wizard_?" here he grinned, "Sure, mate, I'll take ya there! It'd take a good fifteen minutes on foot, but I'm sure my horse Sydney could make it in five! At the door, just tell the castle guard, Amelda, who ya are, and I'm _sure _he'll talk to the Wizard for ya."

"Thanks a lot," Ryou replied with a kind smile, climbing into the coach.

As the coach went through the city, Yami was first to notice that Varon's horse Sydney was indeed a _"horse of a different color,"_ as he kept changing colors.

People bustled around in the streets, laughing and chatting with each other and all dressed in identical shades of green. There were shops and parlors, as well as houses and office buildings. It was a city beyond hopes or dreams. It was so comfortable, yet so modern that it couldn't possibly be mimicked anywhere else.

Jou grinned at Kaiba. "Isn't this _amazing_?"

Kaiba nodded. "It is…nothing like Domino."

"What's Domino like?" asked Jou.

Kaiba frowned for a moment, wondering how to explain _"normal"_ to a scarecrow from Oz.

"Nothing like here," he said at last.

Jou laughed, but his laugh was interrupted by a high-pitched scream.

An Emerald City civilian was pointing up at the sky, and as others looked up, they began screaming and pointing too.

"It's the Wicked Wiz," Kaiba realized.

So it was. Up in the sky was a blimp, and on a huge television screen, he could see the evil wizard's face.

_"**Surrender, Seto Kaiba,"**_ his voice boomed into the city below, _**"If you really thought that I was finished with you, you are dead wrong…I'm not finished with you until I get those silver shoes…and believe me, anyone who stands in my way again will be handled by me…personally…"**_

And with that, the blimp disappeared in a poof of black smoke.

"Kaiba? Who's Kaiba?" one woman asked.

"The Wizard will explain it!" another woman said.

"The Wizard!"

All the civilians' voices came together in a panic, running over to the large palace where Varon's carriage had just pulled up.

"We better hurry if we're going to see the Wizard," Jou jumped out of the carriage, "It looks like he suddenly got a long line of customers."

A struggling man at the entrance tried to calm the crowd down. He had bright red hair and light silver-blue eyes, and like everyone else, was dressed in green.

"That must be Amelda," Mokuba muttered, "The guy Varon mentioned!"

"Silence! Silence!" Amelda yelled over the crowd, "Everything is alright! The Great and Powerful Oz is looking into this as we speak! So go on home, there's nothing to worry about! Get out of here, move along…"

The crowd eventually dispersed, until Kaiba and the others came over to the guard.

"If you please," Ryou said politely, "We'd like to see the Wizard of Oz…all five of us."

"Nobody sees the Great Oz," Amelda snapped, "Nobody, nohow."

"But he's Seto Kaiba!" Jou gestured to the CEO.

Amelda's eyes widened. "_The Wiz's_ Seto Kaiba?"

Kaiba nodded. Amelda thought this over.

"That _does_ make a difference," he said at last, "Wait here…I'll announce you to Oz at once."

And the five of them sat down on the steps, new hope apparent in their eyes.

"In a few minutes, I'll have my brain!" Jou grinned.

"And I'll get my heart!" sighed Ryou.

"And I'll finally be King of the Forest!" Yami purred, as he lounged down on the steps next to Jou, "Oh…how long I've _waited _to be brave, and today is finally the day I will be!"

Mokuba nodded. "It's exciting, isn't it, Seto? Soon we'll be back home! I can't wait!"

Kaiba ruffled his little brother's hair a bit. "Indeed…I can't wait either, little bro."

But right then, the doors slammed back open, to reveal Amelda.

"The Wizard says go away!" the guard snapped, before going back inside and slamming the door.

There was a silence.

"Go away?" Ryou whispered in disbelief.

"Looks like we…came a long way…for _nothing_," Jou sounded like he had a bad head cold.

Mokuba began to cry. "I…I thought we were going home…"

Kaiba put his arms around his little brother. "Don't worry, Mokuba, we'll…we'll find a way…"

"Of course you will," Yami assured him, but it was obvious he didn't believe everything he was saying, "The Wizard…the Wizard can't be the _only_ person to go to…"

"I just wanna go home!" Mokuba wailed, "I miss Domino, I miss Japan, I miss _everything_!"

Kaiba's grip tightened around his little brother. "I know, Moky…I know…"

It was then that Kaiba's ears picked up another source of crying.

"Please…don't cry anymore!"

The group turned to look at Amelda, who they could see was weeping, from a trapdoor in the castle entrance.

"Don't cry anymore…" he sobbed, "I'll…I'll get you into the Wizard somehow…I had a little brother myself once…"

And still sobbing, he closed the trapdoor, and a few seconds later, the door opened to admit the group into the Wizard's castle.


	8. Chapter 8: Oz's Decision

_**Chapter Eight: Oz's Decision**_

Kaiba and Mokuba looked at each other, and then the two started into the castle, Jou, Ryou and Yami soon following behind them. When all five of them were inside, the door closed behind them with a _click!_

"G-guess that means no r-rescheduling on visits, huh?" Ryou stammered.

"I'm not so s-sure about this, guys," Yami whimpered, his red eyes darting back to the door, "I d-don't think I wanna see the Wizard _this_ much…m-maybe I better just wait outside…"

But both Ryou and Jou seized his tail and pulled him back.

"You're just a little scared, Yami, that's all," Jou reprimanded, "We _all_ are…but the Wizard's gonna get you some courage, remember?"

"I'd be too scared to _ask_ him for it!" Yami whined.

"Then we'll ask him for you," Ryou tried to comfort him.

"C'mon," Kaiba spoke to the lion coldly, "Just grip my hand, and when you feel scared, squeeze really hard."

"Won't it hurt?" asked Yami meekly.

"Probably," Kaiba rolled his eyes, "But I've heard it works with little kids when they're scared, and as you're whimpering just like one, it should help."

So Yami, hesitantly and with some difficulty, took Kaiba's hand in his paw.

"Thanks, Kaiba," he whispered almost inaudibly.

They journeyed down a long emerald hallway, and at the very end, there was a dark green doorway, which opened out of its own accord before Kaiba could even bring his hand up to push it.

The five stepped inside, and there was only a dark room ahead of them.

Then a ghostly, blue-greenish light appeared almost out of nowhere from the back of the room, and it started to move eerily toward them.

"W-w-what's _that_?" squeaked Yami, squeezing Kaiba's hand tightly.

"I d-don't know," Ryou whispered.

Flames spurted on either side of them, making them all scream, and the blue-green light changed shape to reveal a ghostly young man that was almost a spitting image of Kaiba, age and all, sitting on a gold throne.

"**I am Oz, the Great and Powerful,"** the young man spoke in a thunderous tone that filled the whole room, **"Who are you, and what do you want?"**

Kaiba stepped forward in a business-like way, Yami gripping ever more tightly onto his hand and Mokuba on his other side.

"I am Seto Kaiba," he stated, "CEO of Kaiba Corporation. My brother Mokuba and I-"

"**SILENCE!"** the Wizard roared.

Flames again lit up on either side of the room. The Kaiba brothers and Yami shrank back in fear.

"**The Great and Powerful Oz knows why you have come,"** the Wizard continued a little quieter, but no less deadly, **"Step forward…Ryou Bakura."**

Ryou looked absolutely petrified, but he still clanked three steps forward.

"**You dare to come to me for a heart, do you, you clinking, clanking collection of junk?"** the Wizard scorned.

Flames spurted once more, and Ryou trembled.

"Y-yes, sir," he whispered, "Y-yes, your Majesty. Y-you see…a while back, we were walking down the Yellow Brick Road, and-"

"**SILENCE!"** the Wizard shouted again, and Ryou ran behind Jou in fright.

"**And you, Katsuya Jounouchi,"** the Wizard turned on Jou, **"Have the notion to ask me for a brain, you walking bag of farm fodder?"**

Jou tried to stay far away from the fire-sources on both sides as they lit up once more, and stammered, "Y-yes, y-your Excellency…b-but I haven't a notion _yet_…but with a little of your _Wiz_-dom, I could-"

"**ENOUGH!"** the Wizard snapped, and Jou, with Ryou running to keep up, ran behind Kaiba.

"**And you…Yami Yugioh,"** the Wizard turned to Yami.

Yami, who was trembling from his furry head to his clawed toes, tentatively let go of Kaiba's hand and stepped forward.

"**Well?" **

Yami's eyes rolled into his head, and he collapsed in a dead faint.

The others ran to him; Ryou rolled him onto and tried to find a pulse and Jou slapped his face lightly to try and wake him up.

"How _dare_ you!" Mokuba finally lost his temper, "How dare you _frighten_ him when he came to you for _help_!"

**"Silence, brat!" **the Wizard barked, **"The Magnificent Oz has every intention of granting your requests…"**

Yami jerked awake. "What'd he say? What'd he say? Did he really say what I _thought_ he said?"

"**But first,"** the Wizard said calmly, **"You must prove yourselves worthy…by performing a very small task…"**

Kaiba and Jou exchanged a questioning look, before the Wizard ended the pause with the proclamation,

**"Bring me the magic staff of the Wicked Wiz of the West!"**

"B-but if we do that, w-we'll have to kill him to get it!" Ryou protested.

"**Bring me his staff,"** the Wizard repeated, **"And I'll grant your requests. Now go."**

"B-but w-what if he k-kills us _first_?" Yami asked.

**"I SAID GO!"**

And with that, the flames shot up around the whole room, forcing the five back into the hallway and out of the castle.

Jou and Kaiba slammed the doors of the castle, and the group gasped for breath outside.

"The Wicked Wiz?" Ryou whispered, "Is the Wizard of Oz _insane_?"

"There's no _way_ we'll be able to get his magic staff," moaned Jou, "Simple task, my ass…more like a death sentence…"

"What are we going to do, Seto?" Mokuba asked his brother.

Kaiba was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "We go after Gozaburo. That's the only way we're going to get back to Domino."

"But you could _die_!" Jou whispered.

"99 percent chance of it," agreed Kaiba, "But I myself think a chance of going home is too important for Mokuba and me to pass up. We've no other choice."

"Well then, count me in, Kaiba," said Jou, "There's no way I'll let you two go alone!"

"Neither am I!" Ryou added.

"Add me to the roster too," Yami growled, "I may be a coward, but you're the only friends I've ever had, and from what I've heard, loyalty outweighs bravery in friendship."

Kaiba couldn't help but smile. "Thank you…all of you. And now…I believe we owe the Wicked Wiz a visit."


	9. Chapter 9: The Sun Sets in the West

_**Chapter Nine: The Sun Sets in the West**_

Dusk fell on the five travelers as they entered the Dark Woods surrounding the Land of the Winkies, ruled by the Wiz of the West.

Jou spotted a sign on the side of the road and stopped to read it.

"'_Wizard's Castle: 1 Mile.' _I'm not good with measurements as I don't have a brain, but we must be getting close."

Yami pointed to a scribbled note in red under it. "_'I'd turn back if I were you.' _I'll agree with your assumption, Jou."

"Do you think we'll meet any…_guests_…on our way to the castle?" Ryou whispered.

"You mean guards?" asked Mokuba.

Ryou shook his head. "No…I mean more…_creepy_ guests…"

"_Ghosts_?" snorted Kaiba, "There are no such thing."

"Oh yes, there are," Yami corrected fretfully, "There are…and knowing the Wiz, they're probably _very_ scary."

"There are no such thing as ghosts," Kaiba growled, "C'mon, we've…AHH!"

The CEO suddenly found himself being lifted up into the air like a puppet by an invisible puppeteer, before being dropped sharply on the ground.

"_Kaiba_!" Jou helped him up, "Are you okay?"

Kaiba rubbed his head. "Define _'okay.'_"

"Uh…" Jou thought a moment, "Not in pain?"

"It's an expression, Jou," Kaiba smiled weakly, "It means I'm okay, but I don't feel it."

"Oh," Jou blushed, "Okay."

"AHH!" Yami leaped into Kaiba's arms, his claws digging into his trenchcoat and his eyes wide with terror.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Kaiba shouted, dropping the large cat back onto the ground.

"THAT! IN THE TREE!"

Kaiba looked up to see a strange raven-like bird with shining red eyes.

Kaiba frowned, before drawing a card from his Duel Monster deck and chucking it at the bird.

The card landed straight in the bird's head, making its robotic head split in half.

"It's a machine," Kaiba muttered, "Its eyes light up, that's all."

Yami peered at the little robot for a moment in surprise, before laughing.

"_HA_! Stupid bird…looks like it couldn't handle a King of the Forest! Who's the lion up there? Uh-huh, _uh-huh_, who's the lion…"

The rest of the group sweatdropped.

* * *

Gozaburo chuckled at the antics of the group on his computer screen.

"Fools…do they _really_ think I'm the one being hunted? _I'm_ the only hunter around here, and today, _they're_ the main course…"

He clinked his magic staff on the marble floor. "It's time to capture those fools!"

A strange man with long white hair, sharp brown eyes and black wings appeared out of the shadows in front of Gozaburo's chair, and behind him came other winged people. The man nearest to him had an Egyptian tan, white-blond hair and lavender eyes, behind the Egyptian was a guy had long purple hair and deep blue eyes, and in the very back was a girl with blond hair and bright green eyes.

"You want us to pay them a visit?" asked the white-haired one evilly; he seemed like the leader of the group.

"Do," Gozaburo said coldly, "Take the Egyptian Armada into the Dark Woods and bring Seto Kaiba and his little brother to me…you can do what you like with the others, but I want both boys unharmed. And be careful with the silver shoes!"

"Gotcha," White-Hair smirked, "Boys in one piece, anything you please with others. This should be fun."

"Don't just _stand _there, you moron!" Gozaburo snapped, "Get them!"

"Fine," White-Hair rolled his eyes, "Egyptian Armada…let's fly!"

And the Egyptian Armada took off with one flap of their wings.

* * *

"Yami, stop prancing around like that, you look like an idiot," Jou said at last.

Yami stopped, looking a little annoyed.

"Jealous," he growled.

"I am _not_!" snapped Jou.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Uh, guys?" Ryou tried to intervene, "I don't think now is-"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"_Guys_…" Ryou whispered.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"GUYS, SHUT THE HELL UP AND RUN!" Ryou yelled.

The others turned, and indeed agreed with Ryou.

Flying down from the darkening sky were four figures with wings…winged people dressed in purple…and they were coming straight for them.

"GET THE RUNT, MARIK!" a white-haired one that looked like the leader shouted, "THE ELDER'S MINE!"

A tanned one (presumably "Marik") came flying down at Mokuba, who tried to run, but wasn't fast enough.

Then Yami ran along next to Mokuba.

"Jump on!" he shouted.

Mokuba jumped onto the running lion's back, and Yami sped up and dodged trees, trying to get Marik off their tail, but he just kept gaining…

Another winged man with purple hair and blue eyes suddenly came in front of them, and swung Yami around by his tail, throwing both Yami and Mokuba into a large tree.

"YAMI!" Mokuba tried to wake up the motionless Yami.

"Thanks, Mahaado," Marik thanked the other warrior, before seizing Mokuba with one hand and starting to fly away.

"SETO! SETO, HELP!" Mokuba screamed, kicking and trying to escape from Marik's grip.

"MOKUBA!" Kaiba shouted, "MOKUBA!"

The leader then went after Kaiba, who tried to fight him, but every punch and kick he threw was blocked, before the leader seized his leg, breaking it, and threw him against a tree.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Jou ran over toward White-Hair, but a blond-haired girl tackled him onto the ground.

The leader smirked, grabbing Kaiba's collar.

"You're coming with _me_, loser," he growled.

Then from out nowhere, Ryou leapt onto White-Hair, punching every piece of him his tin hands could find. Then the leader gained control, and seized both of Ryou's punching hands.

"Heya there, cutie," White-Hair greeted with an evil smirk.

Ryou growled in fury, before flipping over so he was on top.

"Leave me and my friends alone!" he hissed.

White-Hair flipped him over again.

"I wouldn't be doing my job," he said coolly, "You're cute, but orders _are _orders…see you around, cutie…"

Bakura swung Ryou by his wrists and threw him into the ground, before grabbing Kaiba by his trenchcoat and taking off into the sky.

"Mana, we gotta go now!" shouted Mahaado.

The blond girl nodded, before taking flight with the rest of the Egyptian Armada.

Jou was in pieces on the ground, but he could still see the two Kaiba brothers fly off into the distant sunset and hear Mokuba's terrified screams.

Tears fell down his cheeks. "_No_…"


	10. Chapter 10: Friends to the Rescue

_**Chapter Ten: Friends to the Rescue**_

"What a good little brat you are," laughed Gozaburo, holding Mokuba's chin in his hand as White-Hair tied the struggling boy's wrists together with twine.

"Get off my brother, you bastard," Kaiba snarled, whom Marik had flung onto the ground; he would've gotten up, but his right leg was broken.

Gozaburo let go of Mokuba's chin and looked down at Kaiba.

"I admire your spunk, boy," he sneered, "But I don't think you're in a position to call me names."

"Let my brother go!" Kaiba snapped, trying to stand only on his left foot by pushing up on a table, "He's done _nothing_ to you!"

"I'll let him go in due time," Gozaburo replied evilly, "Whether he will be in one piece or not is up to you."

"Let him go…_unharmed_," Kaiba repeated in cold fury.

"Certainly, certainly," Gozaburo smirked, "When you give me the silver shoes."

Kaiba looked down at the shoes on his feet. "But the Witch of the North said not to!"

"Very well," Gozaburo whispered coolly, before looking at White-Hair and ordering, "Take the boy into the river and drown him!"

"NO!" Kaiba shouted, "No, don't! You can have anything you want, just don't hurt my brother!"

"That's a good boy," Gozaburo snickered, "I _knew_ you'd see reason…"

But when he tried to take the shoe off Kaiba's wounded leg, sparks of electricity shot out at his fingers, burning Gozaburo's fingers.

"I didn't do it!" Kaiba insisted, "I didn't know…don't hurt Mokuba, I didn't know it-"

"Fool I am, I should've known," Gozaburo interrupted Kaiba's words with his own furious ones, "Those shoes will never come off…as long as you're _alive_."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, not with fear but with determination. Death never had scared him; as long as Mokuba wasn't harmed, he didn't care.

"But that's not what's troubling me," Gozaburo continued, "It's _how_ to do it…these things must be done very delicately…or you hurt the magic."

Then, to Kaiba's surprised relief, Mokuba jerked the rope binding him out of White-Hair's hands.

"RUN, MOKUBA, RUN!" he yelled.

"CATCH HIM, YOU IDIOT!" Gozaburo snapped at White-Hair.

Mokuba, followed closely by a flying White-Hair, raced toward the exit of the Wiz's castle, and the little boy ran down the drawbridge and toward the woods beyond.

He'd been too fast for him…!

"Say hi to your Tinman for me, boy," White-Hair muttered in Mokuba's ear before the boy dived into the bushes beyond.

"He got away!" Kaiba whispered as he watched Mokuba run into the darkness from the window, "He got away…"

"Which is more than you will do!" growled Gozaburo, "Damn you and your brother! You've been more trouble to me than anything else…but it'll be over soon enough!"

Gozaburo turned over a large silver hourglass.

"An hour," Gozaburo whispered, "That's how long you've got to be alive…and it isn't long, boy, it isn't long at all. But don't expect to actually count the whole hour away…a half-hour will be enough for your mind to waste away in the darkness of the Shadow Realm."

And with that, the Wicked Wiz slammed the silver door behind him, locking Kaiba in the room alone.

* * *

"There," stated Yami, "You're all put back together. You feeling okay, Jou?"

"Define _'okay,'_" Jou quoted Kaiba sadly, "What are we going to _do_?"

"We go out and find Kaiba and Mokuba, of course!" Ryou said in surprise.

"We've got no way to find them without journeying for days and days," Jou moaned, "By the time we find Gozaburo's castle, they could be dead!"

"Oh, come on, Jou," Yami reproached, "This isn't like you. We have to go rescue Mokuba and Kaiba so you can get your brain and Ryou can get his heart and I can get my courage!"

"The Wizard's probably not gonna help us, anyway," Joey muttered, "Even if we _do_ find the Wiz and kill him."

"Jou, don't say that," Ryou tried to calm him.

"Kaiba's gonna die and I'll _never_ get to tell him that I love him!" Jou sobbed.

Yami finally got fed up with Jou's whining, and slapped him right over the face.

"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" the lion roared, "We _all_ care for Kaiba and Mokuba, but that's no excuse to _cry_ like you are, you're acting like a big baby! If you _really_ loved Kaiba, you wouldn't ever give up on finding him! Kaiba never gave up on any of _us_, right? He didn't even give up on me when I was moaning about not seeing the Wizard! Sure, we may not find them very quickly, but it's better than sitting here on our fat asses and waiting for a miracle to fall from the sky and onto our heads, so get up and stop crying already!"

Was it not for the surprise of cowardly Yami yelling at him, Jou probably would've replied to the speech. Instead, he clutched his cheek and tears silently went on his cloth cheeks for a moment.

"Yami? Jou? Ryou?"

The three turned with joy at the sound of the familiar voice.

"MOKUBA!"

The younger Kaiba brother came out of the bushes, to be hugged by the still-crying Jou.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Ryou sighed in relief.

"Where's Kaiba?" Jou asked as he pulled away from Mokuba.

"He's still in the Wicked Wiz's castle," Mokuba told them, "The Wicked Wiz said that he can only get the silver shoes after Seto's dead, but he said he had to kill him delicately or it would hurt the magic…something like that."

"Then we better barge in there and rescue him before that happens," Jou decided, his eyes again aflame in fiery determination, "Let's go."

* * *

The four climbed over the mountain, and peeked over a formation of rocks, to see the drawbridge drop to admit the Winkie soldiers.

"There it is," whispered Mokuba.

"Do you really think we can do this, Jou?" asked Ryou.

Jou smiled. "Of course. Kaiba never gave up on us, didn't he?"

Yami smiled too. "No, he didn't. What's the plan, Jou?"

Jou thought a moment. At last, he replied, "Steal uniforms."


	11. Chapter 11: Wiz Plus Water Equals Disast...

_**Chapter Eleven: Wiz + Water Equals Disaster**_

Kaiba again tried to reach the locked door, trying to escape from the memories swarming in his head.****

**_Bright light drenching the room…_**

**_Mokuba screaming… _**

**_"__Mokuba," Kaiba whispered, looking back into his brother's cell to see him on the ground and motionless._**

**_Pegasus held up a Duel Monster card, and trapped in the illustration was Mokuba._**

"No…" Kaiba could barely moan, "Go away…no…"

**"_I did my best, Mokuba," Kaiba said to himself, thinking of his little brother. _**

**"_Your best failed you!" Pegasus laughed, "Now I summon Bickoribox! Attack Saggi the Dark Clown!"_**

**_The attack came, and Kaiba could do nothing to prevent it._**

**"_Forgive me, Mokuba," he whispered, "I'm so sorry…"_**

"Go away…leave me alone…" Kaiba growled, holding his head and trying to shake the memories away.

But they just kept coming.

**"_Exodia, obliterate!" Yugi shouted._**

**_Exodia attacked, and destroyed all three of his Blue Eyes White Dragons at once._**

**_Kaiba shouted as his lifepoints went down to zero._**

"AHHHHHHH!" Kaiba's scream echoed through the castle a hundred fold.

* * *

Yami had jumped three Winkie guards, and Ryou, Jou and he scrambled into their uniforms. (Mokuba had to stand on top of Yami in order for them to look like one soldier.)

"Alright…_now_," Jou whispered, signaling the group to sneak onto the back of the line of Winkie soldiers.

When they were all inside, the four ducked inside a side corridor until all the soldiers were out of sight.

"Where now, Mokuba?" Ryou asked as he helped pull Mokuba out of the uniform the little boy and Yami had been sharing.

"We passed the staircase up to the tower he's being kept in when we came in," replied Mokuba, before running around the corridor and toward the staircase, the others at his heels.

When they reached the door, Mokuba tried to pull it open.

"It's _locked_!" he moaned.

Jou looked around for something sharp, before saying, "Ryou, gimme your ax!"

The Tinman did as Jou asked, and the scarecrow slammed the ax into the door continuously, yelling, "Kaiba! _Kaiba_! Can you hear us?"

There was no answer; a second later, the door gave way, and they saw why.

"Shadow magic," Ryou whispered, "If we go in there, we'll never come out again!"

"Oh no…Kaiba," Jou whispered.

Yami looked at Jou, then at the magic-covered room, and made up his mind in an instant. He shoved past his friends and ran into the dark room.

"YAMI!" Ryou yelled, "YAMI, COME BACK, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!"

* * *

Darkness all around…it seemed like it was almost climbing into his mind and heart, but Yami kept coming.

"Kaiba?" he called, "Kaiba?"

Laughs came from the shadows beyond.

**"_You'll never escape!" "Your soul will join us!"_**

Yami tried to push aside his fear and ignore the voices, but the farther he went, the harder it was to resist the memories.

**"_He is to be our king!" a grand lion proclaimed._**

**_A young lion with a black, purple and yellow mane and bright red eyes looked absolutely terrified. "B-but I don't wanna be king…I can't be king!"_**

**"**_**Of course you can," a motherly lion assured him.** _

"Mother?" Yami whispered, looking around.

He shook his head. She was gone…he needed to find Kaiba.

**_There was a gunshot. _**

**_The young lion turned around._**

**"_MOTHER!"_**

"No…" Yami felt his legs hit the floor, "_No_…"

The darkness surrounded him…it began to swallow him whole…

Then a barrier of gold light seemed to block him from the darkness and ended the visions.

Yami looked up, to see a stranger there.

He had black, purple and blond hair, the same colors as Yami's own lion mane, and he was dressed all in yellow.

The stranger turned to look at him with bright amethyst eyes.

**"**_**My shield will not last long, Yami Yugioh,"** _he said without moving his lips.

He brandished his hand, to reveal Kaiba on the floor close by. _**"There is your friend. You and he both must get out of this room quickly."**  
_

Yami bounded over to the CEO and grabbed his collar in his teeth before running back toward the exit as the shield began to fade away.

The darkness started to come back…

**"_You'll never escape!" "Your soul will join us!"_**

And Ryou and Jou pulled the lion and Kaiba out into the hallway.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Ryou sighed in relief, "Yami, that was very, very brave."

Yami panted. "No…I'd call it _stupid_, to be frank."

Jou brought Kaiba into his lap. "Kaiba? Kaiba…say something."

Kaiba's eyes opened and blinked a couple times. "Jou…"

"Hey," Jou grinned, "Glad you're okay."

Kaiba held his head. "Mokuba…where's…?"

"Here, Seto," Mokuba said.

Kaiba looked at Mokuba for a moment, and then without warning, embraced his brother.

"Thank God…" he whispered, "Thank _God_…"

Mokuba pulled out of Kaiba's arms. "We better get out of here before the Wiz finds us…"

Kaiba nodded. "Someone mind giving me a hand? My leg's broken."

"Put your arm around my shoulder, and I'll help you walk," Jou offered.

Kaiba did so, and the group ran down the stairs as fast as they could for the exit…

But when they reached it, the door closed of its own accord.

"Leaving so soon?" a newly appeared Gozaburo laughed, "I wouldn't _hear_ of it. Why, my little party's just _beginning_…"

The Winkie soldiers started to surround them, and the five shrank back against the wall.

"Trapped…trapped like rats," Ryou muttered.

"Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of spears," Gozaburo scorned as he came closer, his staff clinking on the marble floor with each step, "Thought you were pretty clever, weren't you? I must praise whoever decided to jump my soldiers and steal their uniforms…after all, most of my soldiers have the IQ of a _chipmunk_. And now…the last to die will see his three friends die before him…and his little brat brother too."

Kaiba's eyes widened, as a blue flame appeared in Gozaburo's hand.

"How about a little _fire_, scarecrow?" Gozaburo laughed.

He threw the fireball at Jou, who tried to duck, but his arm still burst into flame.

"AH! FIRE! FIRE!" Jou screamed in terror.

Kaiba let go of Jou's shoulder, and limping onto his good leg, grabbed a bucket of water on the floor and threw it in the direction of Jou's burning arm.

But some of it hit Gozaburo.

"WHAT? NO!" Gozaburo's eyes started to flicker, almost like an overhead lamp during a huge thunderstorm, "NO! YOU CURSED BRAT! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! _Error_…_Malfunction_…"

"What's happening to him?" Ryou whispered.

"He's short-circuiting," Kaiba realized.

And with that, the machine of the Wicked Wiz of the West collapsed, dropping the staff at his side.

White-Hair flew down from the ceiling, and kicked the motionless robot.

"He's_ dead_…" he muttered, before smirking up at the group, "You killed him!"

"I didn't actually mean to," Kaiba admitted, "I-it's just…Jou was on fire, and-"

"Like the Winkies and my Army care?" asked White-Hair as Marik, Mahaado and Mana flew into the room too, "Thanks a lot. He was a right-old bastard anyway…were it not for his staff chaining us to him, we would've ran off a long time ago."

"The staff!" Jou remembered, "We need to bring it back to the Wizard of Oz!"

Ryou went over to pick it up, but White-Hair beat him to it, and handed it to him.

"Heya there, cutie," he muttered.

Ryou smiled. "Hi."

White-Hair smirked at him, and then he raised his voice to speak to the others.

"You know…with that staff, you now have control over my Army…and if you want to get back to the Wizard of Oz quickly, the Egyptian Armada would be glad to fly you there."

"Oh, really?" asked Mokuba excitedly, "Would you?"

"Hey, it's the least we can do," White-Hair shrugged, "Egyptian Armada…let's fly!"

And so the Egyptian Armada, along with Jou, Ryou, Yami, Mokuba and Kaiba, flew into the night sky like newly born stars, back toward the glittering Emerald City.


	12. Chapter 12: The Woeful Wizard of Oz

_**Chapter Twelve: The Woeful Wizard of Oz**_

The Kaiba brothers and their friends landed from their flight with the Egyptian Armada right in the heart of the Emerald City and in front of the Wizard of Oz's castle.

"Here we are," White-Hair smirked as he gently put Ryou on the ground.

"Thank you so much," Mokuba said.

"Like our leader said earlier, it's the least we can do," Marik brushed aside Mokuba's comment.

Kaiba smiled. "C'mon…we have to go in and see the Wizard…"

The others followed Kaiba up the stairs and toward the door.

Ryou, however, did not move and instead looked down at the Wicked Wiz's magic staff still in his hand, and then at White-Hair.

"So this staff bound you the Wiz of the West?" he asked.

White-Hair nodded. "Yeah. Anyone who holds it has power over the lot of us."

Ryou felt a little sorry for the Egyptian Armada; they were almost _slaves_ to Gozaburo…

"Ryou, c'mon!" Jou called.

"Coming!" Ryou yelled back.

He looked at White-Hair. "Don't leave…I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Whatever you say, cutie," White-Hair chuckled, "But don't expect the Egyptian Armada to look around."

"Go on ahead," Ryou grinned, before turning around to join his friends.

White-Hair watched the Tinman leave in a mixture of amusement and fondness.

"Hell…" he muttered to himself, "I think I'm going soft on that little cutie…"

* * *

"**_Can I believe my eyes?"_** the Wizard's voice boomed throughout the room, **_"Why have you come back?"_**

Kaiba stepped forward.

"Please, sir," he spoke straight-forwardly, "We've done what you asked of us…we brought you the magic staff of the Wicked Wiz of the West," he gestured to Ryou, who held up the staff, "I threw water on him, and he-"

"**_I see," _**the Wizard replied superiorly, **_"He short-circuited. Very resourceful of you."_**

"Thank you, sir," Kaiba said modestly, "Now we'd like it if you'd keep your promise to us and give us what we've asked for."

"**_Not so fast, not so fast!"_** the Wizard raised his voice ever-so-slightly, **_"I'll have to give the matter a little thought…go away and come back tomorrow."_**

"_Tomorrow_?" Kaiba repeated in shock and desperation, "But Mokuba and I have nowhere to _stay _until then!"

Jou stepped forward, his temper rising and his fear evaporating. "You've had plenty of time already! If you really _were _a great and powerful wizard, you'd keep your promises!"

Flames shot up on either side of the room as if to intimidate Jou, but Jou barely flinched.

"**_You dare to provoke the fury of the Great and Powerful Oz in words of honor? I said come back tomorrow!"_**

"You don't even _care_, do you?" Ryou stepped forward too, "You're so focused on _your _owninterests that you're not even thinking about everything Kaiba and Mokuba have done to get here!"

Wind blew on all sides of the room with enough force to knock Ryou over, but Ryou didn't even budge.

"_**Do you really think that pity will get you anything more than the gracious Oz has given you? Think yourself lucky that I'm giving you and your friends audience tomorrow instead of twenty years from now!"**_

"So you can make yourself another challenge or excuse?" Yami snorted as he too stepped forward, "At least where _I_ come from, royal promises are considered _something_!"

"And at least where I come from, a few well-placed magic tricks doesn't automatically make you a Wizard," Kaiba said coolly.

There was a silence.

"**_How DARE you question my powers!"_** the Wizard roared.

At those words, the CEO began to laugh.

Jou and Mokuba looked at Kaiba in shock. What was he _doing_?

"**_What's so funny?" _**the Wizard shouted,**_ "Stop that laughing NOW! There's no joke here, you fool!"_**

"Oh, but there is," Kaiba disagreed rather calmly, "The joke I'm laughing at is the one I'm looking at right now…_you_. You're the funniest joke I've seen in a long, long time."

And without warning, Kaiba jumped up to the Wizard's throne, and with one brandish of his hand toppled the throne over…but the Wizard still sat where he was as though the chair had never moved, flickering slightly like a badly-tuned TV.

Jou stared.

"A _hologram_?" Ryou whispered.

The Wizard's eyes became wide. **_"How did you know?"_**

"Gozaburo being a robot all took us by surprise," Kaiba smirked, "But when we came back here, I had a suspicion about this _'wonderful Wizard'_ of ours…the flames were coming from spouts, so there had to be someone controlling them…and yet there's no place for a human to hide in this room…so you're neither a wizard nor a human…you're only a hologram being placed in here by the means of a super computer."

There was a silence. Then the Wizard sighed.

"_**You're correct, Seto Kaiba…I am."**_

And with that, the elder-Seto-Kaiba-version of the Wizard disappeared, to instead reveal a small boy no older than Mokuba, but with looks still similar to Kaiba's although his hair was an aqua green and he wore a white school uniform.

"**_My name is Noa,"_** the Wizard told them, **_"No, I'm not a Wizard, I'm just a boy whose mind was downloaded into a super-computer."_**

"_You_…!" Jou growled, "Why didn't you ever tell anyone you weren't a wizard?"

"**_I wanted to,"_** Noa admitted, **_"Many, many times…but as my family had practically abandoned me, I wanted someone to actually care about what I did…and these people were willing to do anything I asked just to keep me happy…and though I may not be able to help you guys with your requests,"_** here he smiled, **_"I frankly don't think you've ever needed help to begin with. You've had what you've needed all along."_**

"_WHAT_?" Jou, Ryou and Yami yelled together.

"I never had a brain!"

"I've never once heard my heart beat!"

"Courage isn't even in my _vocabulary_!"

"But you had them all along," Kaiba smiled too, "Yami, you risked everything to get into Wiz's castle, and when you saved me from the Shadow Realm."

Yami opened his mouth a couple times, but it almost seemed like he had forgotten how to speak.

"And Ryou, you fought against the Egyptian Armada to try and help Seto, you're always willing to help anyone," Mokuba pointed out.

Ryou thought about these words for a minute, and didn't have a comeback.

"And Jou," Kaiba put a hand on the scarecrow's shoulder, "You've thought of every good idea and every good plan we've made on our journey. If _that_ isn't brains, I don't know _what_ is."

Jou didn't know what to say.

"**_That's right," _**Noa nodded, **_"The only people here who truly needed help are the Kaiba brothers…and I will get that help best as I can."_**

"Really?" asked Mokuba.

"**_Of course,"_ **said Noa,**_"I'll call up a friend of mine…I'm afraid my connection won't last long, but I'll tell him to come to the Emerald City immediately."  
_**

"_Connection_?" repeated Kaiba in shock, "What do you mean?"

"**_I'm afraid my connection to this computer is interlocked with the Wicked Wiz's of the West,"_** sighed Noa, **_"We're on the same mainframe…I knew I'd never be able to destroy him myself, but at least you were able to."_**

"B-but doesn't that mean-"

"**_I take a permanent vacation?"_** Noa finished for him, **_"Yeah. But I'm glad. My conscience is finally clear…"_**

And with that, the screen went black.


	13. Chapter 13: There's No Place Like Home

_**Chapter Thirteen: There's No Place Like Home**_

The group sat down on the steps of the Wizard's castle together a few minutes later, a ball of lead in their stomachs.

"I…I hope Noa's friend will be able to help us," Mokuba said quietly.

"He will," Kaiba assured him, "I doubt Noa would send us a _second_ false wizard…"

Ryou got up off the steps when he saw the Egyptian Armada come flying down from the sky.

"Heya there, cutie," White-Hair greeted, "How'd your meeting with the Whiz of Wizards go?"

"Alright, I guess," Ryou shrugged.

He looked at the staff in his hand, before stepping closer to White-Hair and handing the magic staff to him.

"It's yours," the Tinman told him.

"_What_…?"

"Whoever owns the staff controls the army, right?" Ryou smiled, "Well…now, you own yourselves. You're free."

White-Hair stared at Ryou, and then at the staff. "I…I don't know what to _say _…"

Ryou's smile broadened. "Well, uh…" he felt himself blush, "You could tell me your name. I never did catch it."

White-Hair blinked. "That's 'cause I don't have a name…no one ever bothered to give me one. Everyone just called me _'leader,' _or, in Gozaburo's case, _'idiot.'_"

"Well, now that you're free," Ryou shrugged, "You can choose a name for yourself."

"Hmm…" White-Hair thought a moment, before saying, "What's your last name, cutie?"

"Huh? Uh…Bakura."

"Alright, then," White-Hair laughed, "I'm now Bakura. Now everyone will know you're mine."

_"__Bakura" _ruffled Ryou's hair. "Well…I can't do any more damage around this Popsicle stand…See you around, cutie."

He opened up his wings, looking ready to fly.

"Ryou," the Tinman said abruptly.

"Huh?" Bakura turned to look at him.

"My name's Ryou," he clarified.

Bakura smirked. "Alright. See you around…Ryou."

And with that, he fly away into the distance, the rest of the Egyptian Armada right behind him.

Ryou smiled.

"Damn, he's so hot," he whispered to himself.

Kaiba smirked at his friend watching the Egyptian Armada fly into the distance.

"Our little Tinman has a crush, I see," he muttered.

"Kaiba?"

Kaiba turned to look at Jou. "Hmm? What?"

Jou's face was flushed, and he was avoiding Kaiba's eyes. "Uh…Kaiba, I've been meaning to tell ya…I…I really…I think you're…Kaiba, I-"

It was then that a gentle gust of yellow smoke appeared in front of the group, and through the yellow smoke came a young man.

He was dressed all in yellow, his hair was black, purple and blond and his eyes shone a bright violet.

"It's _you_…" Yami whispered, "You're…you're the one who helped me save Kaiba!"

The stranger smiled at Yami kindly. "Yes. It is nice to see you again, Yami Yugioh, and in different conditions than in the middle of the Shadow Realm."

Yami felt his face grow warm. _'God, he's cute…'_

Yugi stroked Yami's fur. "If I'm not mistaken…your clan is still without a king. After this whole mess is over, I'll take you home."

Yami's eyes widened. "Oh…really? Would you?"

"It would be my pleasure, Yami," Yugi replied.

"Wait a second…" Jou stood and looked at the stranger carefully, "Weren't you the one who saved Kaiba, Mokuba and Yami from the poppy field?"

The stranger nodded, his smile becoming wider. "That was me. Gozaburo never _has _played fair…I thought there was a need for me to intervene."

He then looked at Kaiba. "Seto Kaiba…if I'm not mistaken, you're waiting for a friend of Noa's. Well, you're looking at him. I am Yugi, the Good Wiz of the South and ruler of the Quadlings."

"Ishizu mentioned you!" Mokuba remembered, "She said you're really busy all the time…"

Yugi laughed. "That I am. But I've been keeping my eye on your journey ever since it first began… I do make certain exceptions for certain people, and I think you brothers are plenty ready to go home after everything you've gone through."

"So you can tell them how to get home?" Ryou asked.

Yugi nodded. "I can and I will…after I ask Kaiba a question. It won't determine whether or not he goes home…but I'm curious."

"And what's your question?" Kaiba inquired as he got up with a little difficulty thanks to his broken leg.

Yugi looked Kaiba square in the eye. "What would you do if I told you that you never truly left Domino?"

Kaiba didn't speak for a moment. He looked at each of his companions, one by one, at Mokuba, and then at Yugi.

Then Kaiba said, "I've never truly left?"

"No, you haven't," Yugi grinned, "Almost every person who has made an impact on your life is right here in Oz…and you could've gotten back Domino all along."

"I _could_?" Kaiba repeated.

"How?" asked Mokuba.

"Your silver shoes had plenty of magic to bring you home," Yugi replied, "All you would've had to do is click the heels three times and you could've gone home at anytime."

Kaiba was speechless. "So…I could go back at any time…_now_, if I wanted?"

"Certainly," Yugi granted.

Kaiba looked at Mokuba, and then at his friends. "The longer we stay, the harder it will be to say goodbye…"

Ryou went over to Kaiba and, crying quite noticeably, hugged the CEO tight.

"Oh…don't _cry_, Ryou," Kaiba wiped some of the Tinman's tears away with his sleeve, "You'll rust yourself again…"

"Now I _know _I've got a heart," Ryou moaned, "It's breaking."

Kaiba frowned sadly at his friend, before going over to Yami.

"Goodbye, Yami," he said as the lion half-pounced on him to give him a hug, "I…I know you'll make a great King of the Forest."

"Thanks to you," Yami sniffed, "And I swear: I'll tell Mokuba's and your tale to everyone in my pride until my vocal cords snap in half."

Kaiba stroked Yami's mane, before getting up and meeting eyes with Jou.

Then, to the scarecrow's surprise, Kaiba came over and hugged him tightly.

"I think I'll miss you most of all, Jou," he whispered.

Jou, still a little surprised, hugged him back just as tightly. They held the hug for a little less than minute, before finally pulling apart, both sets of eyes filled with tears.

Kaiba wiped his eyes on his sleeve, before taking Mokuba's hand and saying, "I…I'm ready now."

"Click your heels three times," Yugi told him.

Kaiba closed his eyes and clicked his heels gently once…twice…and three times.

"And think to yourself, _'There's no place like home…'_"

"There's no place like home," Kaiba and Mokuba whispered together, "There's no place like home…There's no place like home…"

* * *

"I've never seen anything like it!" one doctor spoke, "They're talking at the same time and tempo, and they're both in a coma!"

"It's a natural phenomenon," a second doctor said.

Kaiba groaned; his eyes opened to reveal an empty hospital room. Two doctors were talking outside, he was lying in a hospital bed with his leg still painfully broken, and he could see Mokuba on a bed next to him, who had just opened his eyes too.

"Seto! We're back!" he whispered.

A few more voices chattered about outside, but Kaiba wasn't paying attention.

"So it _wasn't _a dream," Mokuba said quietly, "It was _real_…"

"Unless we both had the exact same dream at the exact same time, it would seem so," Kaiba muttered.

Mokuba smiled. "Hey…do you really think what the Wiz of the South said is true? That Jou, Ryou and Yami are people we know-"

"KAIBA! MOKUBA!"

Running into the room was Yami Yugi, Joey Wheeler and Ryou Bakura.

"You guys okay?" Yami asked.

"We were kinda worried about you two," Ryou laughed.

"We heard about what happened to KaibaCorp," said Joey, "I'm sorry."

Kaiba stared quietly at the trio for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

_**Fin**_

* * *


	14. Author's Final Words

_**Author's Final Words**_

Wow. I'm done. This fic was so fun for me to write, but it was definitely even more fun to hear responses to it, so now I thank all the reviewers who commented on my fic:

* * *

**SGCred**

**Rayne Saijeuz**

**Rainbow Guardian Angel**

**ANAYAS-CREATOR**

**KitsuneChan8888888**

**markyc58**

**Assassin of the Shadows****Katdragon and Gallion** Kitsune-Kurama-Rose 

**princess of azarath**

**Anonymous**

**Sunshine Pie**

**firezone12**

**Psycho Rooster**

**Ayako**

**Engie**

**Green Phantom Queen**

**

* * *

**  
I luv you all! Thankies so much for reviewing.

Now, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss. All of my shonen-ai crossover ideas are finally written down…except for _one_. (grins evilly) This idea, however, I shall make a little surprise. Just keep your eyes open, and you'll later find one final shonen-ai crossover coming your way, written and personalized by the1koolkitty.

Lots of Luv,

**_Kitty_**


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